Flying High in Global Solar – Jinko Solar

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Flying High in Global Solar – Jinko Solar

Flying High in Global Solar – Jinko Solar

An Interview @REI 2016

According to the PV Manufacturing and Technology report 2016 by Solar Media (or PV Tech), the top three solar manufacturers are GCL, Trina Solar and Jinko solar. In this, if you ignore GCL as they are into completely integrated solar PV manufacturer starting from Polysilicon, Trina and Jinko are almost neck to neck in terms of module annual shipments. Refer below:

Now that I have got your attention, let me give you a short intro about Jinko Solar:

Jinko was started in the year 2006 with a vertically integrated solar manufacturing company spread across 6 manufacturing locations in China with 3.5 GW annual capacity for silicon ingots and wafers, 3.5 GW for solar cells and 6.5 GW for solar modules as of 2016. JinkoSolar distributes its solar products and sells its solutions and services to a diversified international utility, commercial and residential customer base in China, the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, South Africa, India, Mexico, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, and other countries and regions.

JinkoSolar is also an IPP and sells electricity in China, and had connected approximately 1,130 MW of solar power projects to the grid, as of June 30, 2016.

Over 12 GW of Jinko solar products have been deployed so far and they have achieved a polycrystalline cell efficiency of 20.13%

Solar Mango team was able to catch up with Mr.Aslam Javed Siddiqui, Business Development Director and Ms.Shirley Wang of Jinko Solar for a brief interview during the recent REI Expo 2016, held at Noida. A quick snapshot of the interview is given below:

Interview with Jinko Solar

What are the key products and solutions Jinko Solar provides to the Indian solar sector?

Solar modules is our prime focus product in India. We have panels ranging from 260 Wp to 330 Wp.

We are a fully backward integrated company manufacturing cells, wafers and ingots. In the downstream, we are also an IPP in China. Developed about 1.5 GW solar farms in China and we have already entered the Latin American Market as IPP. In India, we have consciously decided not to become an IPP – as we do not wish to compete with our own customers.

Which are the key end user segments for your products and solutions?

IPPs or Project Developers and EPCs. We will also foray into residential market segment in the future when storage prices are likely to go down.

What are the highlights and USPs of your products and solutions?

Jinko is a highly quality conscious company. We were the first solar module company to come up PID –free panels (Potential Induced Degradation).

We invest huge sums for R&D and that is why we are at the forefront of innovation through our breakthrough products like dual glass solar panels, 1500 V modules etc.

Any future products and solutions you are coming up with for the Indian market?

We have just launched Eagle series – solar modules, specially made for India. These modules are designed for high temperature and high humidity climatic conditions.

What are the key learnings you have had from the Indian solar energy sector so far?

India is a tough market to crack. Like in every market, it is important to build trust.

One big learning for us is – Long term relationships with key developers is a critical factor for sustaining and growing in India.

What, according to you, are the key challenges faced by the Indian Solar market?

There are several infrastructure issues that we face day-to-day like conditions of transportation and logistics. Port congestions is another issue.

Project financing rates for developers are very high. Due to this challenge for our customers, we also suffer indirectly.